Saturday, December 31, 2016

Rest Is for the Strong

What is my hope for 2017? Rest for my body and mind. This past year was hard for me with struggles in parenting (the monotony and busyness having four kids, special needs, fostering etc.) and by September my body shut down. At that point it's not like you get ample sleep and you're back to normal, it took a couple months of purposeful rest, vitamins and fish oils, exercise, counselling and intentionality with my time to get back on track. I've had hard years and months before but when you have others to care for, recovery is different; there's less energy for yourself, but at the same time, there's more people to get healthy for.

It is so interesting to read back on my thoughts at the start of 2016– the items that I was nervous and excited for never happened. It just goes to show that we only have so much control in our lives and don't know what we will experience in the upcoming year. My family matters most to me; from my health, to my marriage, to the needs of each of my kids, to spending quality time as a whole–this is where I want my energy to continue to go. We don't need more money. We don't need to work more. We don't need a new house or yard or technology. We need each other; in the end, people matter.

The photos above show me content. Happy. Thankful. Having Gary home over the holidays to help with the kids made a huge difference. Having a parenting plan in place for the ones we've struggled with has also helped. Finding supports for the various situations we have dealt with has been a seemingly large task–I don't know how those without resources (time, money, and know how) can do it! Being able to sleep in this past week has been dreamy...all we had to do each day was go to swimming lessons with two parents. Exhale. Easy.

The photo above shows me at my lowest point in September. I don't usually cry and I was sobbing. I felt so low. Yes, the hard times will continue to come but my hope is that through what I've learned this past year (and those before it), I will be able to face it with perspective and strength.

Rest, to me, means relaxing and not worrying about things I have no control over. Rest means down time where I am not striving to be productive. Rest means just being with those I love. Calm. Still. Just be. I hope that this year involves some carefree road tripping and possibly a restful getaway for just Gary and I.

2 comments:

Amen Louise! Rest is absolutely for the strong, and we really can't be truly strong without it. Your vulnerability/transparency in this post in amazing. I have been hearing from so many people that 2016 was a difficult year, so I'm praying that 2017 is a better year for all of us, and that the Lord helps us to be overcomers in the midst of the challenges we do face!

Hello!

Hi, I'm Louise! I'm a mom of three (and sometimes more through fostering) and wife of super chef and science teacher, Gary. I love the great outdoors, photography, and spending time together as a family. Oh, and silence.